Somethings Gotta Give
by The Lesbian Christ
Summary: It's far too strenuous. You know I'm in love with you, you need to tell me now, before I get too ahead of myself. Before I get my hopes up.
1. Shaky Start

It wasn't like her declaration of love for Akira should have changed anything. Sure, they'd been close friends for a while. They shared nearly everything. But she said herself, she would never do anything that made her uncomfortable. So why was it awkward? Why haven't they spent the night at each others houses for some time? Fumi caught onto what appeared to be a silent treatment, and came to the conclusion that though Ah-chan said she didn't mind, she secretly was disgusted with Fumi.

Why else would they stop being so familiar with one another?

The speculation that her closest friend despised her made her eyes turn acerbic, and would often cause her to tear up during classes. It's been haunting her for nearly two weeks now, and something had to be done eventually. She has to confront Ah-chan again to clear things up. Selfishly enough, Fumi felt that their friendship isn't worth it if Ah-chan didn't want part of it…

Hardly sleeping at all Sunday night, Fumi ended up being late to the train station, leaving her hair down as she found no time to do it up. It was a cold morning, expected though, as it was a little over half way through winter. However only about 10 minutes late, there was still a waiting period of about 20 more due to the train tracks being affected by last nights lake effect. After about 13 minutes of waiting, Ah-chan showed up, with he usual bright and cheerful greeting.

"Ohayo, Fumi-chan!" Akira parked herself next to her friend, her nose pink from having to switch between a brisk walk and a jog to get here in time. Her brothers car wouldn't start, also due to last nights weather.

"O-ohayo, Ah-chan.." Fumi returned the formality. Stuttering because she was either nervous or the cold was actually getting to her. A few moments passed before she formulated her question well enough.

"Aaa…Ah-chan, are you…busy after school today?"

Akira exchanged a look of surprise with something more calm and smiled. "Nope."

Fumi expected the opposite, but was slightly pleased with her answer. "Oh, then would you mind coming home…with me?" Fortunately for her, the cold weather could be a reason for the blush on her face, which it wasn't. Akira nodded pleasantly and shivered a bit. The train pulled into the station and the rest of the day dragged on. Clubs after school were cancelled due to the recent snow storm warnings' being issued on TV's and radios. And the ride back took longer as it was snowing throughout the school day.

Fumi tried her best to keep a normal composure about Ah-chan, conversation seemed like the usual, and nothing awkward came up. Fumi questioned whether she should really interrogate Ah-chan over something as small as why they don't have sleepovers anymore. But if she didn't, she'd have little chance at being herself any time soon.

The time came when they arrived at the Manjoume residence. Fumi exchanged little interactions with her mother, as Chizu and her husband were there, making it distressing and awkward considering Ah-chan now knew about Fumi's past relationship with her. How they used to have sex on occasion. Fumi and Akira only spent a few minutes in the kitchen to fetch some hot chocolate before retiring upstairs to Fumi's bedroom.

After exchanging whatever meager conversations they had hovering in their minds, there was silence, and more silence. Fumi traced the circular formation of her mug with her index finger, awkwardly glancing around, meeting Akira's expectant gaze, as if she knew what was coming. Her eyes, Ah-chan's eyes, their beautiful dark color made Fumi lightheaded whenever they met her own green optics.

A few more minutes, and Akira leaned closer a bit, though a table still between them, Fumi could tell she was going to press her for answers.

"Fumi-chan, I have a sinking suspicion that you didn't just have me over for light conversation today…" She spoke in a depleted tone. In Akira's mindset, the reoccurring thought that the girl downstairs, Fumi-chan's cousin, actually had sex with her best friend, while she herself had never even dated...

_Does Fumi ever have thoughts? Thoughts about doing those things with me? Touching, kissing, and…_

She did her best to exterminate the filthy deliberations. She simply watched Fumi as she furrowed her brows into a less vibrant setting. Fumi fumbled with her answer. How is she supposed to respond to such a blunt assumption? While Ah-chan was right about her hidden intentions, she wasn't as prepared as she thought for this.

"We don't…spend as much time with each other…as we used to." Fumi paused, looking down at her hot chocolate, still full and room temperature. "Like, we don't spend the night at each others houses, and—" She couldn't go on, she already felt the stupid tears welling up in her eyes and had to remove her glasses to wipe them away before they could travel freely down her face.

Akira awkwardly smiled. She dug into her pocket, withdrawing the familiar handkerchief before worming her way around the table to her best friend. Handing over the cloth, Fumi had a hard time accepting it this time for some reason. As if she'd never be able to return it, because Ah-chan might finally reject her and leave, forever, but she was there, even after her 10 minute sob fest.

"…A-are you disgusted with me, Ah-chan?" She sniffled a bit and ran the cloth under her eyes every so often, trying her best to control the waterworks in her face, but to no avail.

"Of course not, Fumi-chan. I was just…trying to give you some space, since…I thought you were just…confused?" It seemed hard to choose her words, since truthfully she didn't know why they weren't having sleepovers anymore. She didn't see a reason. A clear one anyway.

"Are you sure?" For some reason, Fumi found it hard to believe that Ah-chan wasn't a least a little uneasy with her.

"Absolutely." She smiled undauntedly. "But if you don't believe, I'll stay over tonight."

Fumi half smiled. This wasn't enough for Akira, however.

"And the night after that, and the night after that, and the whole week. Maybe I should just live with you then." Akira prodded Fumi in the stomach teasingly, in an attempt to clear the misunderstanding, and make her smile more, which worked.

"You don't have to stay, I was just—"

"I'm staying." Akira pointed out as a matter-of-factly. She grinned and took Fumi's now cold hot chocolate and attempted finishing it but ended up choking half way through. After coughing for what seemed an eternity on Akira's end, Fumi couldn't be more convinced that their friendship wasn't in jeopardy, and she was just…paranoid. They shared cheerful laughter as Ah-chan wiped away the chocolately substance from the bit that got on her school uniform.

A knock. Apparently Chizu had been watching for a bit as she leaned against the door frame, smiling. It wasn't smug, nor challenging, just genuine. Fumi went silent, alone with Akira. Fumi had a clear reason, but Akira couldn't quite place her finger on her basis. This girl. Fumi's cousin. Was recently married, and it caused such devastation to Fumi. At the time, she didn't know the deep seeded reason behind it, and now that she did know, it was all too awkward.

"I'm heading home now, Fumi-chan." Chizu's voice ringed. All Fumi could muster was a nod, and an awkward silence that followed. "You two stay out of trouble, now." Smiling, she was gone. What did she mean by '_Stay out of trouble_?' Did she think they were…together? The two waited until they knew she was down stairs before resuming any form of conversation.

"Ne, Fumi-chan, do you have clothes I can borrow for tonight?" She cautiously sipped on the cold hot chocolate, not wanting another fit.

"Aaa, aa…yes." Fumi blushed slightly before getting up and rummaging through her dresser. Withdrawing a plain, pastel blue t-shirt and white sleeper pants, she turned to give them to Ah-chan, only to be caught off guard. She was already removing her shirt. It shouldn't be a big deal, since she was wearing a tanktop underneath, but she couldn't help but feel hot in her face. And selfishly, she was dropped her shirt on the floor, accepting the new one from Fumi and putting it on. It was longer on her, because of the height difference, but she didn't complain.

Akira was about to remove the other component to her school uniform when it occurred that it might be different now that…well…

She looked at Fumi questioningly, who was slightly red in the face. They never had a problem getting undressed in front of each other in the past, but should she be more cautious now…?

**- Author Note :o**

**; ? Review maybe..?**

**-sigh- I should really be doing my requests on deviantart…=_=; But I'm so into Aoi Hana, Hayate x Blade, Kannazuki no Miko and Simoun I just don't have the ambition. :F**


	2. Cold, then Hot

"Uhh..." Akira smiled, Fumi got the idea. Handing her the rest of her pajamas, she turned and face the dresser again, resting her hands on it while she tried expelling any lewd thoughts as Akira changed just a few feet behind her.

"Okay, we're good." She chirped, Fumi turned, trying to erase the horrid blush.

"Hahhn, I'll go take your uniform downstairs for my mom to wash." Collecting Akira's clothing she darted out of the room, leaving the red-head to ponder.

"_I just have to remember, we're the same friends, and nothing is different. She won't try anything, she told me she won't." _Smiling in self assurance, Akira threw herself onto Fumi's bed, holding onto the pillow and burying her face in it. Driving out any suspicious thoughts she had earlier. Minutes passed before she realized the scent of the pillow she'd been inhaling. It smelled like…Fumi.

She withdrew her head as fast as the thought occurred. Staring down at the cushion as if it had whispered a great profanity to her. Why was she even thinking about it that much? It was just a pillow. _Yeah, Fumi-chan's pillow, and it smells nice. _Shaking her head, she groaned, confused.

"Is something wrong, Ah-chan?" The door closed, and Fumi returned, holding a deck of cards. Her face was no longer obscured by a red hue, but was still a little pink.

"Oh, aaah, no. I was just sitting." For some reason her voice spiked and she seemed all too antsy. "But, uh what's that you got there, Fumi-chan?" Akira positioned herself upright, folding her legs underneath her, leaving room for Fumi to sit.

"Oh, my mom said that there's a chance the power might cut because of the blizzard, so she thought we'd play cards if we got bored…"

Akira groaned. "I'm sure there are other ways to entertain each other than rely on archaic methods like card games." She laughed awkwardly as she realized what she just said could be taken in a dirty sense. "Aaahaaa…"

Fumi set the cards aside and sat on the bed, not making it too awkward by distancing. She sat at a friendly range. "Nnn, Ah-chan, I know I already said this, but…I'm not going to do anything weird…that is…uh—"

"Yeah, I know that, Fumi-chan." She smiled. "But, hmm…"

" 'Hmm'?"

"Well," Akira started. "How do you know?"

"Know what?"

"That you don't just…I don't know, feel really, really, REALLY close, and not…love towards me?" The words came out before she could give it a second thought. Hell, she wasn't even thinking at all. It just happened.

"…Aaa, why do you ask..?" Fumi could feel herself getting hot again; couldn't they just have a normal conversation?

"Uhm, well, I've never loved anyone, so, I don't know how it's supposed to feel, that's all!" She laughed it off a little and waved her hand at the subject. "You don't have to answer; I'll get it someday, right Fumi-chan?"

"Ah…I suppose." She brought up a hand and brushed some stray hairs from her face.

Akira had enough with awkward silences, and to avoid another one she dove for the deck of cards, taking them out of the case and smiled devilishly.

"I know, Fumi-chan. Let's play 52 card pick-up! The one who gets the least cards has to lay in snow wearing only their PJ's!" Her face suddenly switched into a more menacing expression.

Before Fumi could protest, Akira's fingers bent the deck to an exact arc and released it facing the ceiling. All of the cards sprang into the air and landing in sparse areas in the room, sometimes behind furniture.

Their eyes only met for a second before they bounded into different parts of the room gathering the fallen cards. As soon as all visible cards were collected, Akira tore Fumi's dresser from the wall like some sort of savage beast and grasped the two cards that fell behind it.

Fumi climbed back onto her bed and slid her hand into the crevice between the wall and the mattress and only withdrew one card. Staring down at her meager pile, she could only imagine herself, laying in snow, shivering while Ah-chan would laugh. She was more energetic than she was, it's only natural that she lost.

"Alright, lemme see your deck, Fumi-_chan. _For some reason there was emphasis on the 'chan' honorific. Fumi resisted at first, keeping a firm hold on her 23 cards, but Akira won the small tug of war. "Haha, Fumi-chan, we don't even have to count your deck." She teased, holding the separate decks in each hand to imitate a balance, her own deck tipping the scale in her favor. Of course, Fumi understood the circumstance and before long, they were outside, staring at a thick patch of untouched snow in her backyard.

"Okay, I'm waiting." Akira teased and glanced at her nonexistent watch, then back at the snow. Fumi was freezing as it was, but nonetheless complied, laying down in the snow, regretting not finishing that warm hot chocolate. She merely watched as Akira's face was obviously lit with enjoyment. Her smile. It made the snow less cold...

Now it was Fumi's turn to get something out of this. Before Akira even knew what was happening, she was being pulled into the snow. Fumi scooped a large handful of snow and shoved it down Akira's shirt, earning a nice sound that was a mix of screaming and laughing. She fought back, however, and not only returned the snow down the shirt gesture, but smeared some in her face with a look that could only be held in comparison to some sort of demon. The two wrestles in the snow until they realized they were soaked, freezing, and out of breath from the mixture of exertion and laughter. Shivering, they hurried back inside, but it didn't fix that fact they were cold.

"Awww, Fumi-chan, you know these are your clothes, so now you have to lend me more." She pouted, keeping herself from stuttering from the cold. "I call hot bath first!" Akira darted upstairs, Fumi trailing after, her glasses fogged up from the quick change in temperature. "A-Ah-chan!" They reached the bathroom door, Akira shutting it in Fumi's face. At first, Fumi stood looking at the door. She could use her parents shower, but it felt strange. The door opened back up and Akira peered around at her. "I was just kidding, Fumi-chan, let's bathe together."

There was a long pause. Fumi was staring. _So, she doesn't feel uncomfortable...she doesn't think I'm a freak... _was Fumi's thoughts. Akira opened the door the rest of the way and lead Fumi in, since her legs seemed to be malfunctioning. _We're done this before, there's nothing different. _She told herself while Akira was removing her ice cold garments. Fumi resisted looking and started stripping down herself. The hot bath water that was slowly filling up the tub was also filling the air with steam, which only blanketed Fumi's glasses even thicker with hazy fog. It might not have been a bad thing though, since now she wouldn't be tempted to savagely run over her friend's body with her hungry stares. By the time the bath was drawn, hey both hurried into it, letting the heat encompass them.

"Oooohhh.." Akira moaned as her once numb body was feeling the onslaught of almost scolding water. At first it made her itch everywhere, but soon it turned into a more soothing feeling. Fumi's blush was a cross between hearing Akira's moan and twisting it into something dirty, and how hot the water was. "Thaaaat feeeeels niiiiice~." Akira sank lower into the water, keeping her nose above the surface, while Fumi just sat and smiled, contempt with being able to bathe with her best friend.

**- Author Note :o**

**Oh yea, hi. o.o I finally got my dad to hook up the other computer so I could get chapter 2 from there, finish it and yea. Here. _**


	3. Burn

**o_o Well howdy. I asked my dad for the Aoi Hana dvd set which was $7.00 on the site I was looking at, he said no. But then the next day I asked if I could buy the girl I like a hoody, he said yes. Wtf? The hoody was $40.00. Lol. :/**

**I should be doing my English essay. .**

**But this is more fun. .**

**And I think I have one reader. Maybe. . Hehe, look at my puny 44 hits of doom! So pro. xD**

**!Oh wait. I'm shy. Don't critique my st00f, just ignore anything you disagree with pl0x.!**

**But thanks people who complimented. I feel better. :) 3 **

**So yea, here's chapter 3. :I**

* * *

By the time they finished their bath, dried off and got dressed, it was nearing 11:00 pm. Nobody else was awake. They weren't tired enough for sleep, so they wound up in the kitchen, eyeballing Fumi's mothers collection of teas. There must have been well over 35 kinds in the cupboard, and a mixed variety of tea bags in a canister beneath it. As to why her mother collected tea's, Fumi had no clue. Curious enough, Akira went through a a few handfuls, sniffing them like some sort of mutt. A wet mutt, her hair was still a little damp. After sifting through about 20 tea bags she withdrew one with a dark red one. It smelled like roses. "Fumi-chan, I want this one." Akira smiled brightly. Fumi eyed it cautiously, it was blood-red. Her mom wouldn't keep a dark secret, like secretly drinking blood-based teas, would she? The morbidly outrageous thought came and went, Fumi chose her own tea bag. It was a off colored orange, and it smelled like peaches.

While Fumi boiled the mixture of milk and water, Akira continued to observe the tea library. A few times, she'd come across a certain tea bag with a strange scent that would set her off sneezing, while some just made her scrunch her face up in disgust. Fumi was entertained with this, but became so distracted with this, she neglected the pot on the stove, and it wasn't until Akira shrieked that she realized it had boiled over, and ran into the burner, causing a small fire to start.

Immediately Akira darted out of the room for god knows what reason, leaving Fumi to deal with the miniscule inferno. She shut the stove off and snatched the pot from the stove before realizing it had a metal handle. She burned herself. Dropping the pot on the floor, she didn't even scream. She just used her uninjured hand to douse the fire with water from the sink. The fire died, and the room was clouded with smokey haze, and her mother just stood in the door way, watching her with a mixed expression of either confusion or humor. But certainly not anger. Just then, Akira jumped back in the room with a handful of snow, and throws it onto the already extinguished fire. She had to stare at the burner for a few minutes to process that her action was mostly unnecessary. "Oh..." Was all she said. The teenagers had a pause, looked at Fumi's mother who's face now looked gaunt and tired. "What were you girls doing, making a camp fire?" She asked exhaustively.

"Mmm, making tea?" Akira replied doggedly with an unreadable but cute smile, picking up the pot from the floor with an oven mitt, placing it in the sink. All Fumi could think about was her hand burning like she stuck it on the sun's surface. They're mother warned them to be more careful and to clean up their mess before returning to bed. _Aa, what was it that I'm supposed to do to treat burns? _Was Fumi's current thought. Akira took one look at it and didn't have to question what happened. "You sure are thick Fumi-chan." She teased and they went up stairs without bothering with the small mess on the stove. They were back in the washroom. Unfamiliar with Fumi's medicine cabinets it took her a few minutes to find some aloe vera cream. Fumi eyed the bottle. She always thought that was just for dry skin. Akira held Fumi's wrist in one hand and applied the ointment gently to her towering friend's palm. For some reason, the cool feeling of the lotion was painful, and then it warmed up and hurt more, so it was an over all uncomfortable. She tried centering her feeling on just Akira's hand touching her own. Her less vertically gifted friend stopped applying the lotion.

The two stood for what seemed like a minute, holding hands. For some reason, Fumi thought she was getting more out of this than Akira, and lead her to believe she might have been taking advantage of Ah-chan's kindness and turning into something romantic, in which it clearly wasn't. Her eyes started to throng tears behind her eyelids and she did her best to hold them in, but her efforts were denied. "Fumi-chan?" Akira seemed concerned. "Does it still hurt?" That's great. She assumed the tears were from pain. She went along with it. "Aah...yes." She reached up and wiped away at the water works, and replaced her glasses.

"All better?" The red-head smiled up at her spectacled friend, who looked back down at her with a longing ambiance. "Or do I need to kiss it, too?" Fumi was at a loss. Her tone was laced with a small amount of sarcasm, while it felt serious. Before she could object, Akira pressed her lips to Fumi's palm for several seconds. Indulging in her soft touch, Fumi's senses were on fire. It was too soon when it ended, and she was being lead to the bedroom, in a daze. Her hand still hurt. She wasn't going to lie, and say that Ah-chan's kiss made it any better, but the thought of it replayed in her mind and helped take her focus away from the pain.

"Bed tiiiiime~" Akira let out a yawn and helped herself to the usual pillow and sleeping bag from Fumi's closet and spread it out onto the floor. "Mmm, do you need an ice pack for it? It might be hard to fall asleep with that burn." She looked at her friends hand, as if expecting to understand the pain. Fumi shook her head and crawled under the blankets, leaving her injury to hang off the side of the bed, knowing that putting it in the warmth of blankets would exacerbate it. She felt Akira watching her and tried to make nothing of it. The lights were turned off and the red-head followed suit, worming her way into the sleeping bag.

Only after laying still for several minutes did Fumi's hand start to writhe with pain. In an attempt to squelch the heat her hand gripped onto the cold bed frame. She tried her best to stay quiet but eventually she let out a small moan. She hoped that Akira had already miraculously dozed off, but that hope was shot down when her scorched appendages were accompanied by Ah-chan's. She didn't say anything, she gratefully accepted the small gesture. Akira's fingers had a cool touch and Fumi couldn't help but wonder if she was cold on the floor.

"Ah-chan..?"

"Mmm?"

"Will you sleep with me?" This question wasn't out of the ordinary. In fact it happened nearly every other sleepover, back then. Would Akira say no this time? Her doubts were pointless. Her friend shifted out of her cocoon and worked her self under the blankets with Fumi, their hands still joined. Sharing a bed, a blanket, a pillow, holding hands/ As she suspected, it must have been much colder on the floor, as Akira brought in some cold air under the blanket. They curled into each other, remembering to keep Fumi's hand exposed on top the blanket whilst still being cradled. Fumi removed her glasses and set them on the window sill before actually closing her eyes for an attempt at any sleep. It wasn't working. A half-hour passed and she was constantly thinking about her burn. She was so desperate she was having thoughts of amputation, or soaking it in nitrogen. Both of which seemed like heaven. Her eyes opened and she stared out the window. Passed the inviting cold air was a sky with stars and spotty clouds that seemed dark and menacing when faced with moonlight. The momentary distraction only took her mind off of her hand for a minute before losing concentration. She turned and looked at Akira who seemed to be sleeping without a problem.

The opportunity to observe her friend's features more closely presented itself. Fumi tried to resist but she was inexplicably attracted. Pale moonlight coming in through the window gave an unnatural glow. Of course her lips were especially enticing. Once Fumi caught herself brushing her own lips against Ah-chan's she jerked away and faced the wall, distancing herself and pulling her hand free from Akira's weak grasp. Her friend moaned in her sleep for a moment and returned to her normal breathing. Fumi couldn't feel more disgusted with herself. This is exactly the kind of thing that she promised she'd never do, and would most likely ruin their friendship beyond repair, but she couldn't stop thinking about how she wanted to kiss her more and explore the depth of her facial features. It was never going to happen, but fantasizing about it was the only way she could get an idea of how it would feel.

Her train of thought crashed the moment she felt Akira's arm snake it's way around her hip. Fumi's eyes widened with expectancy, but it turned out she was still asleep. A natural cuddler.

"Fumi-chan, does it still hurt?" Her friend's groggy voice was so quiet, Fumi had to think for a moment. But she couldn't help but wonder if she'd only just woke up, or was she awake the whole time? After a moment of not answering, Akira must have sensed something as wrong because now she was holding Fumi's hand again. Before she had time to think, the question came out of her mouth.

"How long have you been awake, Ah-chan?" The dark-haired girl berated herself, closing her eyes, expecting the worst. "Not very long, why?"She still sounded tired. That was reassuring. "Aa, it's nothing." For some reason, she expected her to say something like _'I was awake the whole time, and I want you to kiss me again.'_ Or rather she wished it. She rolled back over to face the object of an overly-advantageous friendship to find her staring back with torpid eyes. Not very long could mean anything. "If you're still not tired, I can stay up with you, Fumi-chan." That wasn't very convincing considering how tired she looked. Fumi declined her offer and urged her to go back to sleep and forget the kiss she might have been aware of. Before long, the two of the finally fell asleep.

**Hmm...uneventful. Soz. Ideas on what to do next would be acceptable, as long as it's not too...well yea. Just don't request me to type them doing it like horny ostriches. .;**


	4. Pretend

**Ohhhh, chapter four, chapter four. What to do in this chapter. .**

**.**

**Hmm...**

**If only I had high speed I could re-read all of the manga and watch the episodes whenever I desired. Hmph. I'm sick today, so all I can do is be on the computer, as much as I would like to go on a walk. ;/**

**Well, with the good reviews, I suppose I can try. :P **

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The sunlight had no problem breaking into Fumi's window and harassing the two of them to wake up. The assault on their eyelids became too much of a hassle, so the first to roll out of bed would be Akira, seemingly forgetful, or oblivious to last night's event. _Tuesday. School. Don't want to...Too tired..._Fumi's thoughts were the generic brand of usual dislikes a normal teenager has towards the morning hours. She got to thinking even more. _It's cold out, my bed's warm. Maybe I should fake sick. _The idea was all the more tantalizing when she remembered she'd have to now ride with Akira to school. Fumi peered out from under the blankets at her now standing friend. She was raising her arms up straight in a gesture of stretching.

Unfortunately her eyes were taking the opportunity to again, ravage Akira's physical stature. Unable to dismiss the observation that it must have been cold in the room, as Ah-chan's most notable lineament was her perquisite chest. Fumi groaned at her perverse thoughts and buried her head under the pillow. Her hand still hurt like hell, she'd just use that as an excuse for her discomfort.

"Fumi-chan, time to get up." Her friend's voice was laced with exhaustion. She felt her hand gently press on her shoulder in an attempt to stir her. Unwillingly, she rolled closer to the edge of the bed. Her uninjured hand surfacing from the bed sheets in search of her glasses. _Augh...where did I put them last night? _She let out another groan. "Glasses...Ah-chan." Her friend must have been entertained with this mixture of being tired, in pain, and blind. Pressure at the end of the bed lead her to assume she was reaching for something, but was surprised to find Akira's hand guiding her own to the window sill. Soon as her guided digits felt her spectacles, she grabbed them, but didn't put them on. She just lied in bed. "Aaaahh-chan, I don't want to get up..." With the pillow still covering her face, she could only imagine Akira understanding only partially what she mumbled.

Moments passed without any sort of reply from the red head. What was going on? She was still at the end of the bed. But it suddenly shifted, and Fumi knew now that her friend was now sitting on top of her. Now the bed was uncomfortably hot. The snow outside seemed welcoming. Slowly withdrawing the pillow from her face, she brought her glasses to her face, allowing the sight to return to her visual impairment to look up at her friend, who was looking at a spot near the other side of the bed. _? _"Ah-chan..?" Her eyes followed Akira's and it took a few seconds to see the pin stain on the bed sheets. Initially, Fumi thought it was embarrassingly that time of the month, but that was quickly dismissed when she remembered her hand.

Holding her arm up in front of her, she found the culprit, her hand was oozing, and must have started doing it in her sleep. _Disgusting_. It must have been a mixture of puss and blood. She glanced at the clock, they still had about an hour and 40 minutes to get to school. Akira worked her way off of Fumi and reached into her school uniform pocket to withdraw a handkerchief and started dabbing it over the stain. "Mmm, Ah-chan, we can just toss it in the washer downstairs, you don't have to bother. Besides, it's gross." She tossed her voice around like she was cranky, and she was. Slightly more frustrated than she should be. Akira stopped what she was doing and nodded in agreement. "You sound awfully irritable, Fumi-chan." She teased in an equally peevish tone to mock her. Akira prodded the side of Fumi's face with her index finger, urging her to get up and out of bed to get ready. Initially, she swatted at the intrusive finger and rolled in the opposite direction, resuming the pillow over her face routine. But Akira found other ways around this.

Her devilish fingers soon wormed their way beneath Fumi's nightshirt and assaulted her with a horrid tickle attack. If it wasn't for the burn on her hand, she would have been able to fully enjoy the attention, but she only laughed timidly and swatted a few times to get her to desist. "Hmm, we should probably patch that up before we leave." The red-head pointed out while changing into her unwashed uniform. Nobody would notice. Looked as clean as it did when she first got it. Fumi disregarded every word coming out of her friend's mouth, pretending to look down at her burn, while actually frequently glancing at Akira's flawless physique. _Augh, I'm so revolting...I'm defiling Ah-chan with every glace I take. _Finally standing up, she made an attempt at stretching, somehow sore, she left the room. With whatever ability she had with her left hand, she'd try to wrap some gauze around her burn.

In the bathroom she immediately ran her injury under some cool water and let out a sigh of relief, and once that was done, she splashed some in her face, dried it off, and began rummaging the cabinets for the gauze. On the bottom shelf under the sink, we withdrew a small box. Not being left handed, her endeavors were impudent, and she just dropped the roll of gauze on the counter in defeat. Staring down at her burn, she began contemplating just wearing a glove, but she thought of all the complications like getting too hot, sweating, pus and blood soaking it, smelling awful, looking weird with just one glove on. Not worth it.

Akira soon entered the room, clothed and running one of Fumi's brushes through her hair. Looking down at the gauze-murder scene, she immediately knew what happened and giggled. "Fumi-chan, you should have asked for help." Fumi gave off a look of incompetence and frowned while her friend easily wrapped her injury, even getting her fingers encased. "Aaa, thank you, Ah-chan.." She receded, and let Akira attend to her own hair in the usual style. Returning to the room, she started disrobing and changing into her school clothes. She only had on the white undershirt, loosely buttoned when Ah-chan returned. For some reason, Fumi stopped, standing sort of crooked, wearing only her underwear and torso. Akira didn't seem to make any big deal of noticing this, but Fumi found herself wanting the other to observe her, much like Chizu did. Make compliments that made her feel desirable at least.

Pulling on the rest of her outfit, she sat on the bed again to pull on her long socks. That's when she noticed Ah-chan sitting indifferently on the table in the middle of the room, looking absolutely coveted in the morning sunlight. Innocent. She stared at her for what might have been only 10 seconds before somehow ending up on her knees, closer and more up-front. Akira didn't appear disturbed, only perplexed. That was good right? If she didn't really feel comfortable, she'd express it more clearly. Chancing her next move, Fumi asserted her hand over Ah-chan's knee, blushing and making eye contact, trying to earn some sort of answer.

Meanwhile Akira's mind was running on a hamster wheel. Lost at how she wanted to react. _Oh gosh, is she going to kiss me? What if she does? What'll I do? Was it because I helped her with the bandages? __That was just me being friendly. Or was it? I'm awfully calm for someone who's never been in this kind of situation My heart's going to explode. Play stupid! It always works! _Akira smiled and kept her usual composure in check. "Mmm, something wrong, Fumi-cha-" She couldn't possibly finish her sentence, her mouth was now busy with something else. The girl. Her best friend, who'd she known since forever was softly pressing her lips to her own. At first she wanted to jump backwards, but the position they were in just didn't allow for any such movement, so she sat there and took it. The kiss in itself lasted for 12 seconds, but it wasn't until 8 seconds that something inside Akira was telling her _something. _Now came the time for them to withdraw. And it would no doubt be awkward. Fumi expected to be smacked, yelled at, or pushed, away, but neither came. It was just silence.

They probably could have stared at each other for hours if it wasn't for Fumi's mother appearing in the doorway, warning them to start heading out, earning a jump from the two of them. School. Nice timing, or inconvenient timing. Either way, they didn't make eye contact while putting their shoes on. They had silently, mutually agreed that taking any motorized transportation was out of the question, so they went on foot. In no time, they were walking to school, in the cold weather, in more dreaded silence. Not even the cool air was enough to soothe the heat in their faces. Akira's mind was still left back at the house, on the table in Fumi's room, trying to comprehend what happened. 5 minutes into their walk, her mind had finally caught back up, and formulated a reaction. Play it off like it was nothing? Yeah.

"Aww, Fumi-chan, you're a thief." her tone was something between being playful but disappointed, It was her first kiss, after all, but to her it didn't seem like a big deal. Fumi was surprised that she said anything at all, let alone something less demeaning. "Aaa...I'm so sorry, I didn't know I was doing it...you know..until it was already happening..and.." Her voice trailed off defensively. "I really am sorry, Ah-chan, can you..." "Pretend it never happened?" Akira finished her question. Not in a sense of anger, but normality. She knew that her friend was very troubled, being in love with her best friend who was straight, or...well she got the picture. It was basically rough. Now she had to answer the very question she'd finished. Can she let it go? Her first kiss being with her best friend?

"Yes." She smiled and grabbed her taller-half's injured appendage gently. With every word, there was a cloud of fog as her warm breath mixed with the cold atmosphere. She could tell in the way Fumi sort of lost her balance that she never expected the answer. "How?" Fumi asserted another question with pure confusion. "I stole your first kiss, it's...unforgivable." She was genuinely sad. But Akira played it cool, and insisted her composed tone. "But, I'd rather have it...with my best friend than anyone else right now..." Fortunately, it wasn't awkward anymore. Whatever lingering feelings of guilt inside of Fumi was pulling her down, vanished and with just that sentences, she felt a lot better, but was nonetheless compelled to do something to repent her crime. The time came, they had to split way, go to their respective schools and spend the day thinking about the magical 12 seconds they shared this morning.

The day dragged on. Nearly every moment of Fumi's day was reminiscing about the kiss, and thinking of different scenarios, what she could have done to play it up, and maybe change Ah-chan's mind about lesbian relationships, and maybe starting one. Like maybe she could have pushed her back onto the table and played with her hair. But every time she tried thinking any further, it would be disrupted by her mom entering the room (horribly awkward), or someone in her class would interrupt her train of thought and occupy for for a few minutes. It positively bugged her, though, how did Ah-chan feel of all this? Did it stir anything, was she making any progress? It burned so bad, and made the 7-hour school day seem like a week before the dismissal finally came. And again, school club activities were canceled due to the awful road conditions.

On her way from the school entrance, Akira and Kyoko were tightly bound together to fight off the cold. There was even ice on the ground near the trees, and they watched as other students around them struggled to maintain themselves without slipping. Apparently, Kyoko had pretty good advice concerning her and Fumi's situation. But in the end, it would be up to herself on whether to act upon anything. _Just give her, and yourself a chance, it can't completely ruin your friendship if you just want to try it. _Yea sure, sounds easy. Sort of. They reached the sidewalk where Fumi and Akira always split up, and Fumi was nowhere to be found. Maybe that was intentional. Kyoko's assigned fiancee pulled up beside them, however, Akira declined the offer for a ride, confident that Fumi was just running late or might just be ahead of her. The car drove off, and she was alone, watching fewer and fewer students walking passed her. Shivering, she decided to wander up to Fumi's school to search for her friend.

The grounds were eerily empty, she only walked passed two students, neither of which having any known connection to Fumi, so she made it into the office building acquainted with warm air. After wandering hall after hall, she finally found her missing person in the library, standing in between bookshelves, her nose buried in a small pale yellow book. Her posture seemed absolutely awful. However, this was the perfect chance to scare her, or not. Maybe that wasn't proper in a library. She silently crept behind her friend, and stood nearly juxtaposed. _Maybe she's just skimming. _Were her initial thoughts, but no, after several minutes, she couldn't stay quiet anymore.

"What are you reading, Fumi-chan?" Half-unintentional, Fumi was started and dropped her book and shrieked, looking to Akira with an expression that made it seem like the red-head was some sort of rapist, attacking her. Though Fumi realized it was Akira, her face turned placid. "Oh, Ah-chan...what are you doing here?" She sounded exasperated. Bending over to pick up her book, she readjusted her glasses and flipped through the pages to find where she left off to bookmark it. "Ah, well, I didn't see you at the intersection, so I came to look for you. Is that okay? I mean, are you busy?" She couldn't help but notice Fumi's blush. Was it there all day? It looked the same as it did when they parted this morning. "N-no, not at all, I just wanted something to read for tonight. Chizu-chan is coming back over , and I need some sort of excuse to be unsociable." She smiled wittingly, and Akira returned the gesture. After checking out the book, they were on their way to their homes.

"Fumi-chan, I want to come over again." So sudden? What? Why did she say that? Fumi looked at Akira to make sure that what she said wasn't part of her imagination, and it wasn't. "Aaah, sure." They made a quick stop at the Okudaira residence to get some of her necessities like a toothbrush, pajamas and underclothes, before returning to Fumi's house. Chizu garishly showed her face in greeting, the two of them simply nodded to her and went upstairs to confine themselves until she would leave.

"Hmm, why does it seem like she's visiting more and more often?" Akira inquired while setting her bags at the end of the bed. Fumi shrugged slightly, half concentrated on this mornings event. "I'm guessing it has a lot to do with her husband's birthday coming up soon. They must be planning..." Her tone missed something, sounding absentminded. Peculiarly, Fumi took seat on the floor near the bed, seeming to be thinking of something. Akira smiled down at her from the bed. "How's your hand feel?" She reached down and pulled it up to look at. "We should probably replace the bandages. They're starting to look gross." She laughed querulously and left the room for more gauze, returning with the roll from this morning, she sat on the floor crossed from Fumi. She'd somehow managed to get half of it off on her own, and the rest unraveled without much effort.

Before long, they had fresh bandage over the burn. "Well, at least it stopped oozing, and it doesn't burn as much..." Fumi regarded the improvement and looked down at it with some sort of fascination. However startled when her friend's hand locked fingers with her own. Her gaze turned back up and locked green optics with hazel ones. Fumi uncountably became hot in the face, wanting to re-live this morning with more physical interaction. She shook the thought and swallowed the accumulated saliva she'd forgotten about.

"Fumi-chan?"

It took more will power than usual to respond. "Mmm, yea?"

"Can you kiss me again?"

**Hmm? ._. Yes. Yesss?**

**o.o**


	5. Hair

**Oh my gosh. You readers. Ever since my scanner died, I can't scan my drawings and put them on deviantart, so I have a lot of requests pending that I can't do, so the people on there must be so frustrated with me...but your good reviews helps me cope with it. ^^ Thank you. L. If you have suggestions for further chapters, let me know. I have a really usurper cute idea concerning hot chocolate already! :3 So, without further adieu, chapter five, cinco, sank, funf! :) **

**!Oh! But, does anyone know of a site where I can publish original stories? I have a few of them, but I can't find a site...o.o Halp? **

Fumi's ears started ringing, her face crawled as if there were bugs burrowing caverns beneath the skin, turning hot, sweating, eyes dilating in and out rapidly and sporadically. Did Ah-chan really just ask what she thought she asked? Kiss her? What? Fumi's confusion surmounted with every passing second. This morning, that kiss, it was an accident. Her mental faculties couldn't have possibly been in the right place. It was morning, she was tired, cranky, in pain. But Akira asks of another, in nonchalance no less. Green optics flashed into brown orbs, and looked to other objects in the room. Silence.

More silence.

"A-ah-chan..?" She managed to get out in an exasperated tone. Her friend mirrored the look of confusion. WHY was SHE confused? She asked such a...such a strange, spontaneous, question, and **she's **perplexed? Fumi felt nothing from the neck down. The only thing she could feel was how hot her face was, and couldn't help but imagine how red she looked. Most likely in the spectrum of blood red, like she's been bludgeoned in the face. Akira, unlike Fumi, is capable of calm and confident speech at the moment, so she inserts herself further. "You kissed me this morning, Fumi-chan, it's not fair. If you're going to do stuff like that you should at least tell me." Fumi's muscles are now rigid with temptation. If Ah-chan was going to be so insistent, then why shouldn't she kiss her again? Again, she snapped back to attention when the red-head snapped her fingers pointedly.

"I'll admit, I'm confused." She started. "But what happened this morning, I was thinking about it a lot in school today, and it might just be because, y'know...it was different, but what if it's something else..?" There was a trace of blush on her face, but it could have been for any number of reasons. Being honest with each other seemed much more strenuous with Fumi's 'first love' bit hanging over their heads. Even if this small conversation was just that, it seemed to be taking a lot more on Fumi's cognitive responses. Now she was regaining feeling in her other ligaments, and most noticeable to her was how excruciatingly painful her hand was now. They replaced the bandages not even 10 minutes ago, and now it was hurting as bad as it did last night.

Ignoring it, or rather, putting forth her best endeavor to, she tried forming an perceptible answer, not wanted to keep Akira at bay any longer. "Y-yea..." Her voice was laced with hoarse affliction as she struggled with the growing pain. "I understand. But, Ah-chan...uh..." She lost her train of thought. _What is up with my hand? _"Ah..." Unable to multitask with Akira and her miserable paw, she rushed out of the room tearing the gauze off and forcing cold water into it. Although, upon a more focused inspection, she noticed something different about her hand. Turning off the faucet, she brought it up closer to her face and noticed the more pus, mixed with a small percentage of blood. Gross. And the entire area was just red, pure red. Akira was next to her looking at it, with an expression of vexation. "Aaa...Fumi-chan, we should probably go get that checked out.." She seemed to be willing to hold off their previous conversation. In silent agreement, Fumi and Akira wandered downstairs to see her mother reading a _Better Homes and Gardens _magazine while indulging on what else, tea. She looked up and immediately noticed her daughters hand.

^o^; ...

"Just WHAT is that?" She demanded, tossing her magazine to the side, and addressed the image with a closer inspection. Fumi struggled for a moment with her mom prodding and poking her foul injury. "I, aah, I burned myself...last night. While making tea." Her voice mixed between sheepish and intolerance. The next thing she knew, she was being ushered into the backseat of their car with Akira, her mom not bothering with a seat belt, while Ah-chan had to secure Fumi's due to her hand being incapacitated. The ride there was quiet for the most part, despite her mom verbally scolding her for not telling her sooner. And that the mess should have been picked up, too.

Arriving at the hospital, they went up to the desk, and at first glance, the lady behind it was filing her nails. Must not be very busy with the road conditions. She looked up at Fumi's hand and hopped up like she was being held at gunpoint. "Oh wow, that's quite the...uh...let me get a doctor!" She yanked the phone and dialed a number with blinding speed. Fumi just furrowed her brow at her overly played reaction, turning her attention to a magazine rack. She was tempted to grab one, but figured she'd get her yucky hand fluids all over the pages and looked for something else to occupy the waiting period, which turned out to be not that long.

"Manjoume?" A nurse stepped out of a room on the far end of the clinic holding a clipboard. When she too saw her hand, her eyes went crazy, too. Being lead into an unbearably bleak white room, Fumi sat on the metal table with tissue paper padded onto it while Akira and her mother took seat in one of the more comfortable chairs in the corner. For some reason, Fumi avoided any eye contact, again with Akira, not willing to let go on their conversation. They could continue it now, had it not been for her parental figure sitting nearly between them. Speaking of which, her mother seemed to be relieved that they were also in possession of a _Better Homes and Gardens_ magazine for this month, and occupied herself with that for the time being.

For a minute, Fumi finally looked to Akira, who smiled back at her in the usual affectionate mode. It relieved Fumi to know that it wasn't awkward, nor did it need to be. In about 15 minutes, a tall man with ashen blonde hair stepped in, with a similar clipboard, but with more papers attached. She smiled warmly and seated himself in front of Fumi on a stool. After short greetings, and the usual uniform series of questions concerning her feelings. By the time he started looking over her burn, he seemed to have already formulated the prognosis, and started cleaning out the blisters.

"Well, from the looks of things, it's more or less a superficial, second degree burn with some thick blistering to the papillary dermis. Unfortunately, due to the waiting period spent after the burn, there seems to be signs of infection passed this. I'm not sure how bad it is this far." He prodded at the burn, particularly the opened blisters with a long metal object, Fumi couldn't put a name to. "I can prescribe a low dose, antibiotic cream in conjunction with an injection of penicillin to be sure about stopping any possible immunity issues—blah blah blah" Fumi lost interest in what the man was saying. Sure it's her health but the least he could do was just give it to her straight instead of using fancy medical terms.

Looking passed the doctor, she noticed Akira, next to her oblivious mother, making absurd faces and gestures, in an attempt to impersonate him. After about a minute of this, Akira had to stop because the doctor finished his babble and decided to adopt a more human language. "I'll be right back with your injection, and take this slip here to the nearest pharmacy for the ointment." He bowed slightly before excusing himself. _Augh. Why a shot? _Her distaste for shots was present on her face, and Akira was fortunately next to her. Fumi's mother looked over the slip the doctor gave her and slid it into her pocket, resuming her reading.

When the doctor returns, Fumi already had her sleeve rolled up part way to clear the landing. It was only going to last 5 seconds right? Just 5 seconds. A needle. In her arm. For 5 seconds. She turned her head to Ah-chan as soon as the cap came off of the syringe, who graciously held her hand. "Just a little prick." The doctors voice said with assurance, but as soon as the needle broke through her skin she cringed and tightened her fingers around her red-headed stress ball, who was actually watching the whole process of a needle in Fumi's arm. Is she nuts? However it wasn't all that bad, she got to look at Akira's concentrated face, and it somehow isolated her attention for a majority of injection.

It wasn't 5 seconds, it was freakin 10 seconds. 10 agonizing seconds, and although it didn't hurt as bad as she thought, it would turn out to be a pain in the ass later. After the band-aid was placed, she waited for the sucker that never came. They were out of the clinic in a matter of 10 minutes. And in a little over an hour, they were back home, with ointment, a bruised arm, and an aggravated mom. Would Ah-chan want to stay after being forced to go to a hospital and sit through a boring session? It'd probably be better if she went home, anyways. Having her best friend take care of her seemed somehow inappropriate. Now sitting on her bed, her red-haired maiden was pretzeled next to her, reading the instructions on the antibiotic ointment. Without warning, Akira took hold of Fumi's hand and carelessly poured an random dose of cream into her palm. It was cold, and it was uncomfortable against her rough blistered skin. "Ah, ow..." Fumi tried pulling away, but Akira seemed adamant that she would take care of it.

After the lotion was worked in, the diminutive of the two wasted no time in resuming the conversation from this morning. Only it wasn't words, Fumi had no time to protest when Ah-chan's lips were smothering her own. This enactment was a bold move for her, and wasn't sure how to take it all in, but maybe that was her problem. Should she just enjoy it? When it started running into six long seconds, she figured Ah-chan might be waiting for a returned gesture. It took too long though, and she pulled away for a breath, but Fumi finally got the courage, so she only gave Ah-chan less than a second before forcing herself back onto the red-head for a second time, but with more vigor. In the deepest recesses of her mind, Fumi never came close to ever expecting this kind of occurrence, and it was so impulsive to the point it might have been somewhere along the line of fallacious, but feeling this wrong felt so good that she couldn't control herself anymore. Finally her hands freed themselves of their mental leash and courted her momentary lover.

Akira never showed any signs of struggle, nor did she fight back, but her hands remained still on her knees, likely to be out of inexperience. Occasionally breaking apart to catch breath, and silently reassure that they mutually agreed to keep going. At some point they became disoriented from lack of breath and stumbled onto the floor with Fumi on top. This accident made things more heated and the two became more physical, as Akira finally proved her hands were utilitarian as she started running them through her friends hair. Noticing how silk-like it felt between her digits. Just as Akira was starting to explore. "Getting hot in here, are we?" this harsh voice that neither of the two possessed incised through the two of them, causing Fumi to gain some sort of adrenaline based super power that helped her jump nearly 4 feet away from Ah-chan. She hurriedly cocked her head to see Chizu positioned rather dauntingly in the door frame with a smile that was practically radiating malevolence. They only had to make eye contact for a good five seconds because she knew; she'd tell her mom. Would she though? They used to be intimate, and she practically bended backwards to keep it a secret between them. Another 20, 30, 40 seconds, it could have been minutes until Chizu silently excused herself.

Turning back to Akira, their thoughts matched each other exactly as they both darted out of the room quietly to find out if their suspicions were true. Waiting at the top of the stairs they bother eagerly awaited for Chizu to talk about what just happened, but there was just more silence. But the two remained, not willing to leave until there was some sort of conversation, but they nearly had a heart attack when Fumi's mother started coming up the stairs. Panicking, they both rocketed back to the room and were falsely positioning themselves so they looked like they were reading from a school textbook, the blush still smeared haphazardly over their faces. Her mother entered the room and they were both ready to be scolded, thrashed, attacked, separated. But all she did was pick up the ointment instructions to mull them over. After a few moments she spoke. "Did you already use this, Fumi?" She answered almost immediately, and in a higher volume than necessary. "Y-yes!" Her mother looked perplexed. "And are you noticing anything, then?" Akira took the textbook away from her face to watch the two of them speak. Fumi simply nodded and held up her hand as if her moth would be able to see an immediate difference.

"Hmm, well that's good." She smiled and set pocketed the instructions. "Chizu is leaving in a few minutes, don't you want to say bye?" Fumi's face turned fake with placidity. "Ah, no, Ah-chan was—is helping with...homework." She said half-heartedly. Her mother looked down at her with a frown. "Well alright then, I'll tell her for you." The daughter nearly cut her off in blatant disagreement. "Y-you don't have to, mom." She only realized how suspicious that sounded after she said it, but her mom didn't bother with protesting and gave something between a head shake and a shrug before leaving. Akira met Fumi's eyes immediately after. It was clear that they'd had enough physical exploration and now words could be exchanged.

"So..." Akira started. "That's what it's like, huh?" Her smile seemed genuine. Fumi smiled back. "Yeah..." Akira's face turned surprised, and Fumi's followed, but looking confused. "Chizu-sama looked so scary though, what was that all about?" Ah-chan inquired while looking over her textbook with disinterest. Fumi shook her head to herself. "I don't know, she's married, so any past discretion or romance we had shouldn't matter to her anymore, nor should what we...choose to do." Her voice trailed off and caught the attention of her friend. "Oh, so, what does this mean exactly? Like, **us**." Her smile now exudated a sense of being love hyper. Or getting high off of her new experience that took place no more than 10 minutes ago. Fumi tried to keep an air of confidence to it as well. "I'm not sure." she answered absently. "But..." Akira rushed to finish the sentence. "But we should try something else. Like dating." For some reason she seemed excited. All of this happening in such a small time frame. Today was filled with so many details that Fumi stumbled on her conclusion, but agreed in all integrity of the subject.

"This...Saturday?" Fumi inserted sheepishly.

"Definately." She voiced back, but with more assurance.

**A friendly note from your neighborhood lesbian:**

**Radda. :O date date date date date date WHERE. D; Dear science...suggestions? ;-;**


	6. Movies

**Augh. My throat hurts, and I don't feel to good. . Bleh, but I'm still going to school today. There's a cute girl I've liked for almost 2 years, and when I see her, I know I'll feel a lot better. n_n Aaa. -swoon-**

**Oh, this is a short chapter. I figured that instead of merging this with their date, I'll separate it. Sorrryyyy. ;-;**

**-Six-**

The morning after all of those wonderful happenings seems surreal. Fumi was awake all night, listening to the pacifying, light breathing of Ah-chan, while mulling over the past 24 hours in a daze. _I'm finally doing it. I'm dating Ah-chan, my first love. And we've already...kissed. _Fumi was happy. Truly happy. Every time something sullen lurked into her mind, she's bat it away with the thoughts of her friend. Or were they friends still? They were dating now. So that would mean they were...Girlfriend and boyfriend? No, Girlfriend and girlfriend. Yes. So now, Fumi would have to adjust to referring to her as her girlfriend. The transition excited her. She realized that she wasn't exactly this happy when she was with Kyoko. Turning over, she observed Ah-chan's positioning on the floor. Curled up, facing the other direction while giving off the lightest breathing. _Where are we going to go on our first date? Undoubtedly most businesses will be closed because of the weather. _The struggle to determine and plan out the first date took over the remainder of the night, which was only about 45 minutes until twilight began to overwhelm the sky, forthcoming the pink horizon.

Selfishly, Fumi reached over and disarmed her alarm clock so her partner wouldn't have to arouse to the incessant sound of loud beeping. This morning she'd decide on a more subtle way to wake her up. She couldn't find more distaste in the school system today. She wanted to spend more time with Ah-chan, and going to separate schools made it all the more grievous. Sluggishly removing herself from the bed, she worked onto the floor next to Akira. How to wake her up was the question. Shaking her would be the usual method, but now that they're dating, shouldn't it be something more sentimental? Like...kissing her? Still new to the whole idea of kissing her, she had to sit for several minutes before finally agreeing to do it. Not wearing glasses might have faltered her aim, but her lips successfully brushed against Ah-chan's forehead, earning a small moan. Fumi smiled down at her, still in disbelief that any of this was real. She could be in a coma, living a never-ending dream. And if this was true, she would never want to wake. After a few more pecks to Ah-chan's face, she stirred and finally came to.

Sitting up, Fumi realized how dull Akira's face was in the morning. How cute she was. Dull and cute hardly matched, but it looked good in Fumi's eyes. When it seemed that Akira would start stretching, she collapsed back down, only this time into Fumi's lap, where she moaned something under her breath that wasn't decipherable. Fumi ran her digits through the untamed red tangles. This act carried on for around 10 minutes until Akira remembered that school wasn't going to wait and sat up. Thoughts fled her mind about how cold it will be, and how the frigid temperatures had wrecked a good portion of her school's heating system, and the more she thought of this, the more tempting it was to fake sick. Just after standing, Fumi's mother, unannounced opened the door and flicked the lights on, making the two girls complain and shield themselves from the instant assault on their eyes.

"Oh, sorry." She started. The lights went back off. "School is canceled today, it must have snowed a foot last night, and your father's work was canceled as well." Sighs of relief came from the two and their first reaction to this was crashing into their respective beds. Fumi removed her glasses and barreled over to the far side of her bed, near the wall, as if inviting Akira in. In just a few seconds, she must have received the silent invite and crawled under the covers, huddling close into the other, as if trying to sap the heat for herself, and Fumi let her. Wrapping her arms around her to dismiss the shivering and they both drifted off again. This time, with less resistance, the two of them woke up at nearly the same time. The question hit them instantly. What were they going to do? Being trapped indoors was imminent, but Fumi had to find something to keep them occupied, and making out for a majority was probably a hope fallen on deaf ears, so she went for the basics.

Scary movies all day. Most teens their age went for this kind of thing and it seemed appealing enough, and if they watched about 4-5, then that would waste most of their day, which seemed better than just idly sitting and playing cards. Downstairs, the living room was unoccupied. Her parents were in the other room with a guest that Fumi felt unconcerned with. Akira dragged 3 blankets and 2 pillows downstairs with them and turned the couch into a nest for the two of them while the other made hot chocolate, but with more caution not to disturb the burn, still raw and only lightly bandaged like a mummies. She had two thoughts about using the ointment, but decided against it. The pain in her hand, reminded her of the new pain in her arm from the vaccination. Returning to the living room, Akira closed all the curtains, and turned off all the lights so that the only source of it came from the television, and she was bent over perusing the dvd's in the corner of the room. After shutting the door and sitting down, Fumi looked over the movies that her other half selected. Most of them gore, surprisingly.

"Ah-chan, I didn't think you liked these kinds of...movies." says Fumi.

"Well, not really. My parents never let me watch this at home, so I'm going to experiment." She shrugged and crawled into the nest with Fumi.

Subsequently, turning the first movie on, they cuddled together, knowing that whoever walked in wouldn't give two thoughts about it. The movie Ah-chan decided to watch first was about a killer Nun who came from beyond the grave to punish her sinful ex-students. It wasn't much of a triumph for Akira, because at almost any suspenseful part, she'd burrow into Fumi peak through the gaps in her fingers, screaming, spilling hot chocolate, pausing a lot, and more screaming. Fumi wasn't at all annoyed with this, in fact she only agreed to more movies just so she could earn all of those reactions. They were cute. There was something awkward about naked women on screen, and wasn't sure if Akira felt the same stiffness, or if she even liked it. It'd be nice to know what she was thinking. Fortunately, when there was nudity, it was only for a minute, and she would always end up getting killed in an embarrassing scenario. Except in the third movie, when a woman's husband stabs her in the neck with an ice pick while she was bathing, then he killed their baby. The only reason it was funny was Ah-chan's angry rants at the stupid people who run upstairs when being chased. During a worn out suspenseful part in the fifth movie, Fumi would jolt her fingers into Akira to make her scream so loud that her mother thought she was being murdered.

Finally, after the sixth movie, they were too afraid to carry on. _Paranormal Activity_ wasn't as scary with the subtitles but still did it in for them. It was nearing 10 pm already when they finished, and they somehow managed to neglect eating the whole time, so after a late dinner, they were back in Fumi's room, tired and edgy. "Aaaa, Fumi-chan, I don't think I can look at a Nun, hold a baby, take a bath, or use a knife ever again." She groaned and buried her face into a pillow. Fumi smiled. "From the way you scream, I can tell you're inexperienced when watching those kinds of movies." Akira lifted her head up. "Oh? And how's that?" She asked ambitiously. "Well, when you watch a lot of scary movies, you just know when something bad is going to happen, so you're not as afraid." At her comment, Akira smiled promiscuously. "Hm, so what you're saying is, when it comes to experience, the one with the most of it can predict stuff that others can't huh?" Fumi was no stranger, but somehow couldn't understand what Akira was implying with her tone. "What do you mean? I was just saying-" Ah-chan's closed in on the others lips before she could finish her sentence. She didn't have enough time to react before they broke it off. Akira smiled with satisfaction at Fumi's look of bewilderment. "Aa...what was that...Ah-chan?" She asked. Akira shook her head, still smiling as if she'd proven something ample and established some sort of title between the two of them. Fumi was now persistent.

"Ah-chan?" She prodded at her with her index finger, who ignored this and layed on the bed near the wall. She spoke again, only this time with more force behind it. "Okudaira Akira!" Fumi wriggled her fingers up her friends shirt and started tickling her rabidly. Being extremely susceptible, Akira was laughing and unaffectfully swatting at her assailant. "Nyaaah, are you going to explain yourself, yet?" She had to speak over a normal tone because of Akira's gasping and laughter, but in between this, she managed the word 'no', so the tickling went on for what seemed like 5 minutes to Akira, when it actually spanned 20 seconds. "Hmm..." Fumi observed her, thinking of another way to torture out and explanation, but decided it wasn't worth it. She was tired, despite sitting around all day. Fumi untangled the blankets and shifted around underneath them until finding a comfortable position. Akira wanted to mess around a bit more and somehow wedged herself next to Fumi in an indescribably awkward position.

The raven haired girl groaned. "Aaahh, what are you doing? I'm tired.." She tried prying away from Akira but somehow she was a leech attached to her entire being.

"Fumi-chan, where are you going to take me for our date?" She asked wearily.

"What a sudden thing to ask..." She countered. "Ahm...well...did you have a preference, Ah-chan?" She tried aligning herself into a more tolerable position, but gave up.

"Mmm, no. I've never dated, so I'm not even sure on what we'd be doing." She yawned and undid her physical knot around Fumi, but remained curled up next to her for heat.

"I'll think about it, then." She smiled and traced her finger along the small of Akira's back who made a sound in approval. Come to think of it, Fumi hadn't given it much thought. But she still had 2 days to decide, so she wasn't in a hurry. It didn't take long before Fumi cuddled into her miniature heater and fell asleep.

**A/N: O:**

**Awwwwmg...so tired... Reviews appreciated. But don't me hatin'. :I I'm an artist, not an author.**


	7. Are You Afraid?

**Chaaaaaapterrrrr SEVENNNN...! :O My dad finally ordered the dvd for Aoi Hana and I'm nervous, because he's old and might have typed the wrong address. Well, he did actually, he added an extra '1' before it, so now we have a 6-digit address. I hope they can decipher it. . Because there's no way my dad is going to re-order it. =_=**

**Thanks to Rugaji, I finally have an idea for their date! O: Daaaate! I was going to have on last Friday, but got stood up. v.v -sigh-**

**I think it's a real shame that this, and Sasameki Koto doesn't get much traffic. There's only one story currently in Sasameki Koto, and it's in Spanish...:/ So, I encourage you all to either make a fanfic for it, or watch the anime, read the manga, and THEN make a fanfic! ._. I have one chapter typed for mine, but, somehow when I try to finish that, I end up working on this one. _ Hmmm...**

**Oh, and I'm not sure if this story will stay rated K+ - T, there are some moments that I want in here that are over a T rating. ;[ Gomen. Watch out for the switch.**

**-Seven-**

After the cancellation on Wednesday, Fumi and Akira had to split due to their mothers concern for not turning in homework. They figured it was friendship distraction. They couldn't have been more wrong. On Thursday morning, they slept in, and wound up at school 2 hours late, which brought on the 'no more sleepovers this week' rant from Akira's mother. Friday, they decided to get up respectfully 2 hours earlier and meet up at the train station, simply for unmonitored leisure. The two days forced apart was equally agonizing for them, which only brought on heightened expectations and desire for Saturday's plans. Their first date. Fumi decided on Friday where they'd travel. They'd been there once already, but with two other unwanted parasites. It was where Fumi officially ended her relationship with a certain someone. But this time, the caves wouldn't be part of their route, hopefully. She wasn't sure exactly what they would do when they got there, but she some what relied on Akira's sense of direction to do it for her. Although she felt next to no obligation to dress any different than she normally did. She tossed on an ashen gray jacket over a white turtle neck with some thick jeans. It was going to be a high of 46 degrees today, so she typically wore an even darker gray trench coat that came down to her mid thigh. For an obscenely long time she argued with herself on whether to bring a scarf, but ended up not doing so.

On that Saturday morning, she went to the usual station, arriving 10 minutes early. Even if it was cold, there was hardly any wind, so it turned out to be fine. When 20 minutes passed, she began to wonder if she'd been stood up, but when something cold smashed her in the back of the head, she shrieked and toppled over, splaying onto the ground. Luckily there was nobody around, but when she looked up, Ah-chan was towering over her with a grin of satisfaction. "Aaah, Fumi-chan, I should have brought my camera." She smiled. Fumi's face turned gaunt with intimidation. The red head's smile vanished. "Oh, that's a scary face, why don't you fight back?" Fumi creased her brows more and inconspicuously gathered some snow before pelting it upwards at Ah-chan, who skillfully dodged it. Akira helped up her victim and brushed her off as an apology.

Adjusting the crook of her glasses, Fumi looked over Ah-chan. Taking in how amazing she looked today, but there was nothing different. It must have been the two days they were forced apart that brought out how spectacular she looked. "So, where are you taking me first, Fumi-chan?" She prodded her as they boarded the train. It was empty except for a couple near the end of their compartment and an old man behind his newspaper. "Hmm, well, it's a surprise." She lied. Akira looked the taller one in the eyes. "Oh really?" Fumi felt herself getting hot under Akira's gaze and diverted her own to the couple in the end of the compartment. "Y-yeah, Ah-chan..." …. "You're a terrible liar, Fumi-chan." The darker haired girl could feel her friend's gaze piercing through her body, and felt excited from this. The date hasn't even started yet and she wanted to take Akira into a room, to be alone. Do those things that people do when they're in love. Her face heated up at the thought. She was disgusted with herself whenever those kinds of scenarios played in her head. Hugging, kissing, nipping, caressing, undressing, and- "Fumi-chan?" - "AAA!" She looked at the red-head next to her, as if she might have seen her innermost thoughts.

"Y-yes?" - "We're here." She pointed out the window. _Really? How long was I daydreaming? _She was bewildered at the jump in time and was slightly disoriented when the came off of the train. Due to being closer to the lake, the temperature seemed to drop 10 degrees, she now regretted not bringing that scarf. They both shivered, and they stood there long after the train left. "Okay Fumi-chan, we're here, so now you have to tell me where we're going first." With every word she muttered, a good amount of fog took place in the frigid air. Fumi doggedly looked around, all she could see was beach and a few shops hanging around with hardly any other people. Without a second thought, she lead Akira down to the shore. There there was normally sand, was a good quarter foot of snow. They got as close to the incoming tide as they dared.

From Akira'a point of view, she wondered of there was something she was to do at a moment like this. Walking along a beach, cold, but not entirely. Something inside her was causing her to warm up ever so slightly. As they wandered along the shore line, her eyes wandered onto Fumi's distracted figure. Her posture was so straight and perfect, looking fortified, while she knew that it was a farcical appearance. Fumi was emotionally stable, she knew this. Onto other observations, she wasn't as flat chested as she first thought, unless this growth was something recent. Her hands, uncovered, were pale, almost lifeless. Without objection, Akira removed her glove and seized Fumi's right hand with her own. _This is what couples do, right? We've done this before, but we were friends then. This is different, somehow. _She tightened her grip, to reassure herself, and garner a smile from Fumi.

The two of them wandered the beach for about a half hour, only speaking when they needed, because communication took on a more cognitional form. They'd eventually gave into the cold and wandered into a small assemblage building, like a cafe near the lake. It's dock was vacant, as it was only used in summer. And again, Fumi and Akira, besides an old person in the corner of the room, were the only ones there. The two assembled into a booth near the window. They both ordered hot chocolate, as usual. It seemed to be the only drink besides tea that was proper for cold weather. Fumi couldn't help but notice that the next person to walk in was the same man from the train, with his newspaper. He wasn't all that old, now that she could see his face. He appeared to be in his late 20's. Something about him gave her a bad impression so she avoided any eye contact. Akira couldn't help but notice Fumi's natural grimace and looked at him herself.

"Haha, that man over there looks kinda like Jack the Ripper, hahn Fumi?" She smiled while attempting origami with her napkin. "I suppose so." She smiled back at Akira to hide her discomfort. The man suddenly snapped his gaze to the two of them, as if he knew what they were talking about. The both looked away instantly, with muffled laughter. As it died down, the man was still watching them under his mess of brown hair. Their hot chocolate arrived, and Akira eagerly spooned at the whipped cream creating an amorphous mustache, and tried imitating him. Hunched over, looking predatory, and reading her napkin-made newspaper. Fumi couldn't control her vociferous laughter, trying to smother it with her jacket sleeve.

"C'mon little girl, groom daddy's mustache with your tongue." She teased in an eerily well-done imitation with a closely masculine tone. Fumi's laughter only became more uncontrollable at this, and it became contagious, as Akira lost it as well. The cackling coming from the drew unwanted attention from the other two customers. They somehow managed to force themselves to stop, and Fumi only fulfilled the jocular request. Before Akira could protest, she sipped her tongue over her upper lip to gather the sweet emollient in her own mouth. In silent approval, Akira gently brushed her lips against the other pair, her body filled with pure exhilaration. Fumi broke it off, knowing that they were no doubt being watched still. They sipped on their hot chocolate, still suppressing the urge to laugh whenever they looked at the man, as he was now the source of hilarity between them. When they finished, Fumi payed for everything and they left. The cold air wasn't as much of a bother anymore, as the hot chocolate and laughter was keeping them warm and hyper. The next stop Fumi had in mind wasn't originally planned due to the last encounter she had there. With her ex-girlfriend, but in her heightened spirits she couldn't care less. To the caves they went. These caves were the home to a Shinto shrine, being the main attraction. But since caves were so unexplored to her, she felt that a second trip was to be entertaining.

Upon arriving, there was nobody there, only the tour leader, looking tired and unentertained. He gave the two girls a look and straightened up, putting aside a magazine that was no doubt inappropriate.

"What can I for you two ladies?" He asked in a mendaciously happy pitch. Fumi handed over the fee for the tour, and they were both given respective unscented candles, a light shade of pink. They headed into the cave, using their free hands in a grasp to each other. The tour leader offered to accompany them, but they declined. In the twisting and turning of each cavern, the light from the cave entrance died down, now they only relied on the sparse candle light, that only illuminated a good 15 feet in front of them. "Feels like a horror movie." Akira shivered and drew closer to Fumi, who gladly leaned in and kissed Ah-chan's temple. "They're just movies, though, Ah-chan." She teased. "Most of the stuff you see on TV is completely fake." Akira frowned. "So, you wouldn't be scared if I put out the candles?" "Nope." Fumi smiled down at her, not intimidated at all. "Why not?" Maybe that creepy old man might be following us right now, planning to eat you." Akira brought up her finger to her upper lip for another mustache impersonation. Fumi giggled at this. "I think he'd go for you first, you're so tiny." She prodded Akira's side.

The two of them stopped at the shrine, covered in it's own supply of candles. They weren't as interested in this as they were with one another. Admiring the other, and how incredible they looked in candle light. Nobody else was around, so naturally they took advantage of the alone time, setting their candles down on the shrine next to the others that burned brightly. She couldn't tell if she felt this way because of their surroundings, being alone in a dark area, or being with Fumi, but she didn't deny her arousal and instantly went for Fumi's lips, trying to understand the feeling in her lower stomach, and what it meant, but also trying to absorb everything in the moment. Her fingers wandered through Fumi's sleek hair, and down the small of her back, drawing her closer so their bodies pressed neatly together, using the cave wall as a support. Akira decided to give Fumi's posture a rest, since she had to crook herself down to meet the demands of their height difference and focused in on her neck with her lips. She knew that the taller one was more experienced with this, and more, but she only needed to know what her heart was demanding. Fumi made a sound of amazement or shock, unable to keep up. While the her neck was worked on, her eyes caught a hold of something near the boundaries of where the candle light could reach. At first, she denied it entirely, but at the second thought, she realized that they weren't alone, and unwillingly pushed Akira away, feeling not embarrassed, but distraught.

It was the same man from the train, and previous establishment. Akira gasped when she caught sight of him, and Fumi without thinking, grabbed Ah-chan to lead her away from him. _He's some sort of stalker! _She told herself, feeling endangered. Her breathing quickened as she tried to keep a pace that Akira could match, with the difference in stride, it was hard to gauge just how fast she could go. The ran deeper into the caves. "Fumi-chan! You're just like the dumb girl in horror movies who run upstairs! There's only another dead end up ahead with the shrine!" She choked out. Fumi cursed under her breath and stopped. Only one candle on the wall was all they had for illumination.

"Ah, well. Uhm..." She looked around at the walls, feeling trapped. "Should we try running passed him, then?" Akira nodded. "He can't stop both of us. What does he want, anyways?" She grunted I frustration. Fumi only thought for a second on how horrible their date turned out to be. She grabbed Akira's wrist again. "Ready?" "Yeah, go!" Fumi darted back in the direction of their pursuer. They ran for one minute before seeing him in the candle light head. For some reason, Akira shrieked a profanity at him and they kept going until they were well passed him and back at the cave entrance. They were both out of breath, and must have scared the tour guide, because he did something between a gasp and a yell while falling out of his stool. They finally decided to rest when they came back to the shore. Throats sore from inhaling so much gelid air.

"Haaaauuugghhh!" Akira wiped the sweat from her brow and landed into the snow, laying contempt in it's cold embrace. Fumi only sat next to her and tried putting together what just happened. They were being stalked? But why? Somehow about being lesbians set men off that way? Disgusting. She looked at her girlfriend who now had her face buried into the snow, still muffling more profanities. She came up for air. "That guy was exactly like all of those creeps you see in horror movies Fumi, you liar, that was real!" She was awkwardly smiling, which Fumi couldn't understand. "I said **MOST** of the stuff is fake, not all of it. This was just a horrible stroke of bad luck, Ah-chan." She assured, but Akira still wavered. They sat for a few minutes, trying to think of their next action, before Fumi noticed the man leaving the caves, she again held Ah-chan's writs and lead her further away, back down the shore.

They finally entered another building. It was a small thrift store. "If he shows up in here Fumi, you're going to have to attack him, because I'm not running anymore." She said exasperated. Fumi nodded and picked up a pamphlet with the train schedule printed on the back. "The next train doesn't come for two hours..." she spoke. Akira groaned. "Maybe he'll give up if we're in a more public area." She tried. Fumi agreed and they left the store, not bothering to look behind them, so they wouldn't scare themselves further.

Finally, they came to a moderately sized mall outlet with a good number of people crowding around. They happily entered. It was three stories, but they decided on the second story as a good place to meander for the rest of their date. Mostly perusing clothes, Fumi decided to buy something for Akira, feeling guilty for having their date ruined by some perv. While the red-head was distracted, she payed for a small bracelet. Fumi couldn't help but understand how pitiable her gift was, but felt it'd better than nothing. It was silver, with a cerulean colored heart as the main figure, while the bracelet itself was dotted with sparse designs chaining off of it. The price wasn't something to sneeze at, but it hardly made a dent in Fumi's over all collective allowance. Akira returned from looking through shirts a few minutes later and saw the small bag Fumi acquired. "Aaa? What's in there?" She questioned. "Something for later." Fumi teased, still keeping a close eye for the mysterious stalker. She glanced at her watch, they still had and hour and 20 minutes before they could catch the train.

"Ah-chan, is there anything you see that you might want?" She asked nonchalantly. Akira looked around for a few seconds, and then came to rest back on Fumi. "Hmm, yes." Her smile wreaked of something more involved, and Fumi's curiosity followed. "What is it?" Her free hand was taken and was lead into another section of womens clothes, but she kept going until they were in a hall way with doors on all sides. Dressing rooms? It didn't take long for her to catch on. Akira pulled Fumi into a random room and locked the door. There was pretty much no chance of that creepy man following them now. The taller of the two dropped her bag on one of the chairs and took her coat off, hanging it on one of the hooks, Akira followed suit. Fumi felt like playfully working with the other. "So, what is it in here you wanted?" Her smile mirrored Akira's from a moment ago, and she was not denied a gamy answer. "You." Before there was a moment to speak, the gap between them excluded, and Akira had Fumi pushed against the wall, resuming their previous endeavor before being severely creeped out by their stalker. Lips wandering over the others neck.

Fumi was interested at how gait Akira had been today with the affection. It was only a few days ago that they decided to start dating, but it must have had something to with being friends for so long. Maybe she was realizing that she'd liked Fumi for longer than she let on. For a moment, she contemplated a very perverse action, and tried predicting how Akira might react to it but came up with nothing, so she would experiment in small doses. Firstly, she arranged her hands on Akira's waist, there was little to no reaction, so she furthered her exploration and inched her digits beneath her shirt, lightly brushing along her navel. Akira jolted at first, but only relocated her lips onto Fumi's and seemed to encourage her. She continued and traced her fingers up to her ribs, one at a time, as if counting for measure before fully seizing both breasts in her palms, not taking it any further, just resting them there so Akira could absorb everything. Fumi waited for some sort of feedback, and wasn't disappointed when Akira's tongue snaked it's way into the others mouth, but pulled out as quick as it came. "Fumi-chan, are we...going to fast?" From the sound of it, she seemed guilty. "No. But we don't have to do anything you don't want to, I told you that." Fumi's hands receded into a lower place, around Akira's bare torso.

She almost lead her into another kiss before she her eyes caught something in the gap at the bottom of the door. Feet. And they certainly didn't belong to a woman. This time, Fumi spared no caution to her language. "Shit." Akira didn't have to guess, her eyes looked to where Fumi's gaze lead and whispered in a lowest she could. "But how?" She expressed something between a whimper and a moan, hinting frustration and fear. But Fumi had this handled. "Get out your cell phone, Ah-chan..."

**A/N: :D**

**:) Idk, I'm quite satisfied with this chapter. Thanks again to Rugaji for the idea! And the others who gave me good reviews. n_n L.**


	8. Let's Do It

**Alright, I know you all are very disappointed. My computer crashed. Says it's missing an important file and cant start up, we've tried a lot of stuff to fix it, but I'm afraid it's as good as screwed. ;[ And I had a good page of chapter 8 typed on there. Dammit all! So, if my writing is sloppy in this chapter, I beg for your forgiveness. ;-; This new computer also lacks a spell checker so I have to use an online one. Those aren't very reliable. So, again, excuse the poor quality in this chapter.**

~Chapter 8.~

The next several minutes were a blur. Fumi only recalled Akira doing as she was told, and using her cellphone to call the cops. After that, it only took about three minutes for mall security to show up and apprehend the mysterious bastard. What seemed forever was actually a span of an hour until all of the ensuing complications were settled, and the two could go home. Unfortunately they missed the train they were aiming to catch, and it'd be another hour before the next one arrived. Fumi seemingly lost all ambition with trying. _This is my fault. Ah-chan's never dated before and normal girls, they date boys and don't have to go through this kind of unwanted attention. I've probably ruined her first date for her. Maybe I should have been content with just staying friends...She'll probably break up with me. And things will be even more awkward between us. _Her flood of pessimistic thoughts distracted her from Akira's prodding. Eventually Fumi was gently shoved and that brought her back to a harsh reality. Did Ah-chan know that lesbian relationships are highly subjective to perverse harassment? Was she going to be able to tolerate it? "Fumi-chan? Are you alright?" Fumi quickly nodded, not wanting Ah-chan to worry about anything else. "Well, since we missed the train again, we can probably look around a bit more." Akira suggested. Fumi sheepishly nodded again, their hands came together and Akira silently lead Fumi into back into the first floor of he mall, mainly perusing shoes. Things seemed to cool down between them. Why wouldn't it? Public display of affection only earned them unwanted stares. Akira seemed interested with a pair of boots while Fumi only watched her, half paying attention. "Half the stuff here is way to flashy. Where do they expect me to wear these to?" Akira said pointedly while holding up a pair of neon green pumps with odd sparkles and jewels all over it. "Aaahh, I'm pretty sure someone with absolutely no self esteem would like that." Fumi said off handedly. Akira raised her head expectantly. "You're doing it again." She spoke pointedly. "Doing what?" Fumi objected. "You say weird things that sound depressing, although they aren't directed at anyone. Now I know there's something wrong." She prodded the side of Fumi's face with her index finger, which earned a groan respectfully.

"Aaahh...It's just...well. I'm sure that he was following us because we're...ehm..." Her voice trailed off. There was a minute of silence before Akira grasped onto what Fumi was going to say. "Oh. Because we're kind of lesbians?" - "You- you didn't have to put it so bluntly!" She interjected. Akira stared blankly. Fumi continued. I...just think that...you wouldn't have gone through all of that, if you didn't go out with me." Fumi fidgeted with the sleeve of a shirt on the rack next to her. "So?" She questioned. "We're both still alive. Besides, I find it entertaining to have that kind of action every once in a while. Gets the adrenaline going, hahn?" She smiled brightly and took Fumi's hand to prevent any tears that might have been building up. "That's certainly an...optimistic way to look at it." Fumi choked. Fumi thought to herself; everything seemed to be a mixture of good and bad -chan seems to oppose their relationship. Bad. Ah-chan was still willing to be her friend in all of the excitement. Good. Fumi burned herself, bad. Ah-chan actually wants to date a girl, even though she hasn't really dated a man like most normal girls, good. Their date went to hell because of a pervert. Bad. Ah-chan isn't, or rather, doesn't seem phased at all. Good? Fumi and Akira didn't further the conversation. They idly passed through different stores until it was finally time to catch the train back home. Even the train ride seemed a bit off, the two were slightly antsy, and observing their surrounding compartment for the man, incase he might have somehow escaped the police.

The sun already set, it always gets dark early in winter anyhow. It was nearing 6:40, and it was 7:06 when they got back. It was snowing even more, which, for some reason, releived any tension. Maybe it was a sense of security, knowing that a long train ride was separating the two from their stalker. On the walk home, they stopped at their old school. The preschool. It was only a month before demolition would start, so they figured they should reminice as much as possible. "Haha, looks like someone else was here, Fumi-chan." Ah-chan pointed to a lopsided snowman that was constructed in the courtyard. They went near it, noticing there was no face. "YAHH!" Before Fumi could get a good look at it, Akira, quite skillfully, smashed it's head into a million pieces with a kick. Fumi looked on in confusion. "Ah-chan?" - "Aaah, Fumi-chan, it's creepy, it didn't have a face." She shivered before picking up a good handful of snow.

"Well, I guess now it's even more creepy without a head." Akira pointed out. Fumi just looked down at the remains. After a minute of that, there was a harsh smack against her temple. "Ah!" Akira had pelted her with a snowball, and Fumi swears there was some ice in it. Her glasses had been knocked off in the collision. "Aaaahhh-chaaaannn..." She complained as she got onto her knees, feeling around for them. Then Akira tackled her into the snow before she could find them. Their shopping bags scattered in different directions. "AAAHHH!" Fumi yelped and reached to wipe the snow from the side of her face, but she was completely pinned down. Immediately she turned a dark shade of red. "Oh, Fumi-chan~" Akira grinned. "How innapropriate of you, in the middle of a schoolyard!" She giggled Fumi wormed around a bit but found it remarkably useless as Akira was somehow physically overpowering her. Snow fell around and on them, melting at first touch against the warm skin.

Akira was close enough that she was the only thing she could see clearly, the rest was white and blurry, but she held no complaints. A few minutes passed, Fumi still having fits of uneven breathing. Her throat was hurting from inhaling such large amounts of cold air. Her mouth was suddenly covered by Akira's in a somehow hot but cold kiss that lasted a great deal of pulled away but only long enough for Fumi to breath in, then she moved back in only with more passion. Fumi's arms were now unrestrained and free to roam. They traveled to Akira's hips and dared to go no further. Eventually it got too cold to focus on making out so they stopped. Fumi fault around for her glasses. "A-Ah-chan, where a-are they?" The cold was making her uncontrollably stutter, as her bare hands were feeling around in the snow. Akira placed them gently over Fumi's eyes and her sight was immediately filled with the sight of the school building. She of course had the dirty thoughts of them breaking into the school to do things they shouldn't, but snapped out of it when she noticed Ah-chan running towards a rusted door. "Aaaah..! Ah-chan, I don't think we should be-" She already opened it. _Why was it unlocked in the first place? _Fumi cautiously trudged through the yard, blanketed by at least a foot of untouched snow besides Akira's prints. The red head already vanished, and Fumi because frustrated. _Did she not hear me? _ She stood in the door way for a few moments, it was completely dark so she whipped out her cell phone for a light source. "Ah-chan?" After a minute, she decided to take a step in. The smell was musty and archaic. But something in the air was certain still part of the old school aroma, because it felt familiar. Fumi stepped further in. Akira was nowhere to be seen, but there were two open doors, one on each side of the room. "Augh. Ah-chan, if you trying to scare me..." She groaned and took the door on the left, not able to see much further due to her poor cell phone lighting. She came into a small hallway with 3 doors on each side, they were classrooms. She let out a sigh. This was either sad or nostalgic.

After making it to the end of the hallway, she decided that Akira was clearly not in here so she turned to leave and something was cupped over her mouth. It was cold and forceful, but the unmistakable snickering behind her told her it was Ah-chan. She complied when Ah-chan started pulling her backwards into a room, though stumbling as she was having to walk backwards and also being pulled down to Akira's height. When in the room, her restraints were again released and she immediately whipped her cell phone into Akira's direction who was closing the door. "Ahhh, Ah-chan, what's wrong with you?" She grunted and furrowed her eyebrows. Akira giggled. "I don't know, it just feels so good to break and enter a building." She asserted. Fumi wasn't satisfied. "But it's abandoned. Anyways, we should get out of here, we're trespassing, and I told my mom I would be-" Again with the cutting off, Akira simply placed a single digit over Fumi's lips and it did it's job. The taller one stood silent. Eventually Ah-chan had Fumi backed into a desk, stirring up some dust, Fumi resisted the urge to sneeze. And finally after a minute of a staring contest, Akira made her intentions clear with three words.

"Let's do it."

**Hmm, don't be too disapointed with the short chapter. I've been extremely busy. And OH GAWSH, ARE THEY DOING TO DO WHAT YOU THINK THEY ARE? _ HM? HM? Is Akira going to raip Fumi? Is Fumi going let her? Is Akira ever going to grow taller? Will Fumi's MOM find out? Will Shinobu ever graduate college and get a damn job? Will I ever stop asking questions?**

**Find out next time on...DRAGON BALL Z KAI! **

**Lol. Jk. I'll try to update as soon as possible.~**


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